It’s official: Laguna Beach limits short-term housing to commercial areas

Laguna Beach officially has new rules regarding short-term housing — the Airbnb-style hotel alternative.

The City Council on Tuesday affirmed its first vote on Aug. 9 to ban the controversial practice — which involves renting out space in a house or apartment for 30 days or less — in residential zones.

It would be allowed in commercial zones, for instance in units above stores.

Also under the new ordinance, property owners would need to provide the name and contact information of a person who could be on the site within one hour of a complaint to the city. And it says overnight guests will be limited to two per bedroom and that tenants must be provided with at least two parking spaces.

The unanimous vote followed last-ditch efforts from opponents of such restrictions to get council members to change their minds.

Laguna has not issued any new short-term-housing permits since May 2015 amid mounting complaints of loud parties and littered sidewalks and streets, problems that some residents have attributed to the transient renters.

The 36 permits issued before the moratorium would be grandfathered in.

Cities across the country have wrestled with how to address short-term lodging, which offers the owner a source of income and the tenant another vacation option.

A subcommittee made up of council members Steve Dicterow and Bob Whalen held two public meetings to gather resident input. The council, heeding the Planning Commission’s recommendation, voted Aug. 9 for the ordinance changes.

The revised ordinance becomes effective Sept. 30, one day before the current moratorium on issuing new permits was set to expire.

Opponents of short-term lodging in residential areas have repeatedly said renters create noise and eat up limited street parking.

But Wendy Crimp, who owns a duplex in north Laguna, told the council that not all renters are looking for a place to party.

Crimp said that most of the time she rents her available unit to tenants for more than 30 days, but “sometimes it goes unrented for months until I find the right people.”

Crimp said she has offered space for a neighbor displaced by a landslide and parents of a single mother who did not have enough room for the family in a studio apartment.

“Over the last five years, there has been eight times when neighbors approached me,” said Crimp, explaining that they know to go to her when someone needs help. “None of these good neighbor actions are possible in a post-ordinance world.”

Any property owner who had an approved city permit to rent short-term before the moratorium, even if the house or apartment is located in a residential area, is allowed to continue to rent. In these cases the permit would stay with the land in the event of an ownership change.

With the revised ordinance, any new permits issued would end at the point of new ownership. The incoming owner would need to obtain a new permit.

Community Development Director Greg Pfost said the city is in the process of determining how many such units are located in commercial zones.

Councilman Robert Zur Schmiede said he favored relegating short-term lodging to commercial areas to avoid violating the city’s general plan.

Allowing short-term rentals in residential areas, he said, “would essentially be a policy to convert residential districts into commercial vacation areas over time.”

“Our long-term rentals will be reduced, and second homes will become year-round mini-hotels, with our Police Department and 911 serving as the front desk,” he said.

To read the entire ordinance, visit lagunabeachcity.net.

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Twitter: @AldertonBryce